Alabama Football: Analysis from the Crimson Tide's Week 1 Victory

After a dominant Week 1 performance, the Crimson Tide are back on top of the college football world. Alabama soundly defeated the Michigan Wolverines in their Week 1 matchup, 41-14. Few thought that the Tide could lose this game. but this game was like watching the smallest kid on the block getting his lunch money taken by the neighborhood bully.

The only question that remains is if anyone can stop the bully from his reign of terror.

Much of the talk around the water cooler this week will be about what many non-Tide fans perceive as one-sided. However, history proves the more physical team will get the benefit of the doubt more times than not.

The defense held projected Heisman candidate Denard Robinson to 27 yards rushing and an anemic 42 percent completion percentage. Robinson never looked comfortable and was fortunate to get out of this game with only three interceptions.

Alabama was clearly the more talented team, but talent alone is not the reason the Tide almost doubled the Vegas line. Coach Nick Saban and his staff have compiled back-to-back home run game plans dating back to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.

The defense was not perfect, although it was close, against Michigan. The most notable weakness was the secondary, which gave up two big plays and was close to being victims to more. However, most of the breakdowns were simply a communication error and players like Deion Belue should have the situation resolved with more reps.

On offense, the Alabama offensive line lived up to the hype. Yes, it was facing a rebuilt Michigan defensive line, but looked like it was facing a high school team rather than a Top 10 team. The holes were big and wide for the running backs and quarterback AJ McCarron had adequate time to find his receivers.

Most of the offensive talk this week, however, was centered around true freshman running back TJ Yeldon. He showed the vision and quickness that fans have been hoping for since he played so well in the A-Day game.

Yeldon tallied 137 total yards on 12 touches and a rushing touchdown. Because of this, many fans believe he is close to supplanting current starter Eddie Lacy. However, I believe that is unlikely. Even though Lacy only had 35 yards on nine carries, he is likely to remain the back who gets the bulk of the workload.

Remember last season some fans wanted Trent Richardson benched for Eddie Lacy because of a slow start.

While the Tide grade well because of their offensive production, there are some area of concerns. McCarron looked less than impressive throughout the game as he completed only 11 of his 21 attempts. He will need to be sharper when the SEC schedule begins.

Expectations are once again high in Tuscaloosa, but Week 3 will give us a better gauge of how high the ceiling is for this team. In Michigan, the Tide had a team they played right into their strengths. Arkansas, on the other hand, could pose a legitimate threat to the Tide with the balance of its offense.

Make no mistake about it—If the Tide stay healthy another "game of the century" awaits for the Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers.

Always remember, to be the man you have to beat the man—and the Crimson Tide are still the champs.